


forget me not

by TheSpaceCoyote



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alpha Kylo Ren, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emperor Armitage Hux, Enforcer Kylo Ren, Family Feels, Fluff, M/M, Mpreg, Omega Armitage Hux, Parenthood, Pregnant Armitage Hux
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-18
Updated: 2019-11-18
Packaged: 2021-02-12 14:07:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,009
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21477607
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSpaceCoyote/pseuds/TheSpaceCoyote
Summary: Little Leander, the youngest of the Hux-Ren children (younger than his twin, Aeon, by three minutes) adjusts to the idea of another baby being added to the imperial family.
Relationships: Armitage Hux/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Armitage Hux/Kylo Ren
Comments: 12
Kudos: 255





	forget me not

**Author's Note:**

> I missed my emperor!AU and the Huxlings, so I wanted to write another short fic with them. Enjoy! This one is very much focused on Leander and Hux's relationship, which I find especially sweet. 
> 
> As an aside, Hux is referred to as "Mama" and "Mummy" in this fic, that's my personal preference for this particular AU, so if you don't like that then please shy away from the fic. Otherwise, proceed.

Outside, the afternoon sunlight cast warm shadows across the emerald grasses of the imperial gardens. Sprawling trees heavy with rich fruit and bushes bursting with exotic flowers pepper filled the entirety of the vast space, providing a lovely view and plenty of pretty natural niches for curious children to explore—a feature that, on occasion, caused a headache for their parents and caretakers. 

Case in point.

“Leander! Careful, little guy,” a man called, carefully jogging along the bank of the small, crystalline stream that cuts through the garden, leading out to a large lake at the center. He wore a slick, almost sterile black uniform, augmented only by a braided gold chain on one shoulder. A couple paces ahead toddled a young boy, dressed from shoulder to knees in a red and white capelet, treading over the grass with a pair of tiny leather boots. The light from the two suns above danced on his short, red-blonde hair, making it shine as bright as the little golden circlet nestled above his largish ears. 

“It’s okay Mr. Mitaka! I’m just gonna get some of those for Mummy!” Leander replied as he crouches down by the bank of the river, right before a crop of bright blue honeycups blooming beside a bush of reeds. His boots squished into the soft mud of the shoreline, but he was careful not to fall in. The last thing Mummy needed right now is for him to have an accident. 

“What’s wrong with the flowers over there? Erm, you know, further away from the river?” Mitaka suggested weakly as he came up behind Leander, hands poised, as if ready to catch him should he lose his balance and tumble into the water. 

Leander shook his head, grabbing a handful of the flowers. “Those are yellow. Mummy doesn’t like the yellow ones as much. He thinks the blue is lots nicer.” There was a nice, crystal vase on the table in the living room that always looks pretty blossoming with plenty of Mummy’s favorite flowers. 

“They are very nice. But I’m sure the empero_—Mummy _ would far prefer you come home safe, and not with your nice clothes all soaking wet.” Mr. Mitaka rested his hand lightly on Leander’s shoulder, coaxing the young boy to his feet. “How about we go see him? You can bring the ones you already picked.”

Leander nodded, holding the little bouquet of flowers to his chest. He couldn’t gather too many without a proper basket, but he hoped Mummy would like them. With a smile, he let Mr. Mitaka take his other hand and lead him back towards the glinting doors of the palace. 

* * *

The imperial family’s private bedchambers were already open when Mr. Mitaka took Leander back home. Leander perked up at the sight of his Papa in the doorway, his sweeping fluffy coat and big powerful frame usually comforting, but right now the look on his face made a tight, worried feeling curl up in Leander’s tummy. He was talking to a lady in white robes with a red emblem on her sleeve that Leander recognized but didn’t like. People dressed like that had been visiting Mummy a lot lately_—_mostly when he was sick. 

Leander’s heart sunk. Mummy had just gotten over being sick last week, and now it was happening again? It wasn’t fair. Leander wanted him to get better for _ real_. 

“Lord Ren?” Mr. Mitaka spoke up when they get close, waiting for a natural break in the conversation. He held out he and Leander’s joined hands when Papa turned to look at them. “I...we...Leander had a lovely time out in the gardens. Picked some flowers for the emperor. Nothing of note to report otherwise.”

Leander held the bundle of flowers close to his chest as he looked wistfully up at Papa. But his Papa’s face does something funny, like it couldn’t decide on a smile or a frown and had no choice but to settle on something uncomfortable in between. 

After a moment, Papa briefly looked away from Leander to nod at the medic, stepping aside to let her duck inside of the chambers, before bending down to enclose his far larger hand around Leander’s little one.

“Thank you, Grand Marshal. You are dismissed. LeLe, come along now.” Leander looked over his shoulder as Papa led him inside, smiling at the little wave Mr. Mitaka gave him before the doors close and lock behind them. 

“I_—_I wanted to give Mummy these flowers,” Leander piped up, looking at his Papa as they walk through the foyer to the sitting room, the familiar scent of sandalwood and cinnamon filling the entire chambers curling around his nose. “Can I please?”

Papa let out a soft sigh, and even from his small height Leander could see the somber look in his dark eyes. The uncomfortable feeling in his tummy returned, staying even when Papa got on his knees and tried to put on a wide smile for him. 

“Later, LeLe. Mama will be out in a bit, he just needs to meet with the medic, okay?” Papa patted his cheek and kissed his forehead quickly. “I promise, he’ll be really happy to see them afterward.”

“Oh. Okay. I’ll give them to him after.” Leander nodded, trying to be brave and understanding, but when Papa stood up and turned away he wilted a little. 

He knew the baby had been making Mummy feel a little sick and he needed plenty of rest. Still, wouldn’t the flowers cheer him up and help him feel better? Leander thought to say something but then Papa slipped through the bedroom door without another word and closed it shut behind him, leaving Leander standing out in the sitting room in silence.

After a moment, he walked over to the main table by the elegant couches and armchairs, flowers still clutched protectively in hand. The big vase sat empty in front of him, Mummy having little time to keep it refreshed with new bouquets lately. Leander stood up on his tippy-toes, fingers stretching out towards it, trying to grab it from the center of the table and tug it over so he could put his flowers inside. He fumbled with the base, only to nearly knock it over when one of the doors across from Mummy’s bedroom flung open, doorknob nearly smashing into the wall. 

“Jedi scum! You’ll never catch me!” 

“Nuh-uh! I’ll kill you, Sithspawn!”

Leander’s older siblings_—_Amelia and Sylmar_—_swept into the room like a twin pair of storms, each wielding their oro wood practice swords above their heads like they were leading the charge into battle. At first, they ignored Leander, continuing to yell as Amelia pretended to stab Sylmar with the tip of her sword and declare victory, but after they finished their impromptu little duel, they turned to look around the room, eyes eventually landing upon their shy sibling. 

Leander put on a face. “You guys are so noisy…” He whispered, more to himself than either of his siblings. Thankfully, neither of them seemed to hear him_—_or if they did, they didn’t care all that much about his complaining. 

“It’s just you here?” Sylmar asked, furrowing his brow. Beside him, Amelia put a hand on her hip and flicked her long braid off her shoulder, adopting an annoyed look. 

“Where’s Papa? He said he’d take us out training today!”

Leander pointed to the bedroom door. 

“Papa’s in there with Mummy and the doctor. Mummy’s not feeling well.”

Sylmar’s expression sunk into a sulk, meanwhile Amelia’s annoyance deepened.“I thought Mama was getting better…” she growled and scuffed her shoe against the floor, grip tightening on her sword. “It’s all the _ dumb baby’s _fault.”

Leander flinched. He didn’t want to say it to anyone, least of all Mummy, but a part of him thought his sister was right. Papa kept telling him he was going to love the new baby when they finally came, yet as time went on and Mummy kept falling ill, he wasn’t so sure anymore. 

Leander thought about speaking up and saying something to comfort Amelia, but then Sylmar cut him off. 

“_Ugh_, what’s that? More smelly flowers?” He stuck out his tongue at the small bouquet in Leander’s hand. “Papa just dumped out the old ones this morning!” Sylmar clumped towards the table, making the vase atop it rattle and wobble. “Where’d you find those, anyway?”

“B-By the river outside,” Leander stammered, holding the flowers back against his chest in case Sylmar tried to snatch them, “I thought_—_I thought Mummy would like them.”

“_Oh_, I get it.” Amelia came to stand by her twin, raising her eyebrow at Leander. “You’re gonna try to bribe Mama, huh? You think that’s gonna work?”

Leander frowned. “What do you mean?”_ Bribe _ was something bad. He knew it meant giving someone a present to make them do something they didn’t want to do, but he didn’t want to make Mummy do anything. Leander just wanted him to feel better. 

Amelia rolled her eyes at him, like it was obvious what she meant and he was stupid for not getting it. “Duh. You’re not gonna be the youngest anymore now that Mama’s having another baby. You don’t want him to replace you so you’re getting him flowers!”

Leander froze at his sister’s words, brown eyes moistening in shock. _ Replace _ him? Leander hadn’t even thought about that. Sure, Mummy had been busy with stuff for the baby lately, and hadn’t had as much time to play with Leander, but he never thought that meant he was planning to replace him. That couldn’t be true.

“No way! You’re a liar!” 

“Nuh-uh. We know all about it. We were the babies too once, before you and Aeon came along. Then we weren’t no more. Right?” She looked over to her brother for back-up.

“Yeah, Mama used to treat us like the babies, but then we got too old and not cute and little, so he and Papa decided to have more.” Sylmar nodded, before letting out a big sigh and shrugging his shoulders in mock sympathy. “You’re too old for Mama now, LeLe. He’s not gonna wanna play with you much anymore with the new baby around,” he said, finishing with a mean sparkle in his eyes. 

Leander felt warm tears start to well up. He scrubbed at his face, letting out a sniffle as he tried not to break down, but he couldn’t help himself. All he could think about was all the wonderful memories he had with Mummy_—_sitting out in the gardens watching the suns set in the sky, crawling into his and Papa’s bed when he had nightmares, sitting in his lap as he read aloud to Leander the stories of old generals and emperors from his favorite books_—_and how he’d never have anything like that again, now. Everything would change the moment the new baby was born, and he couldn’t even spend time with Mummy before all that happened, because his _ replacement _ was always making him sick and keeping him in bed. They were already ruining everything. 

“N-No...you’re wrong…you’re wrong!” Pressure built up in his head and his tummy until he couldn’t hold it back anymore. With a loud whimper, Leander burst into tears, eyes blurry and streaming as he ran past the twins towards his bedroom, not wanting to be around anyone else so he could cry alone and nobody could make fun of him for it. 

Behind him, the bundle of blue honeycups lay forgotten and discarded on the sitting room floor. 

* * *

In the back of the closet, beneath a rack of capelets and other formal wear and behind a little removable panel in the wall, was a secret alcove Leander liked to go hide whenever he felt upset and not ready to talk to anyone about it yet. 

Once inside the small space, he tucked his knees up and hugged them tight to his chest. Even with no one around bothering him, he tried making himself as small as possible. His insides felt tight and funny and hurt, and he remembers from the first aid guides he plucked from Mummy’s bookcase that pressing tight on owies made them feel a little better. He curled himself up even more, closing his eyes and resting his chin atop his knees. 

After some time, he heard movement in the house, followed by the sound of voices. One was too deep to be either Amelia or Sylmar, so it must be Papa. A second, higher voice joined him for a moment, before vanishing under the familiar noise of the front door closing and the security system beeping. 

Not long after, he heard his older siblings speak up. Leander couldn’t quite make out what they were saying, but they were a lot less shouty and rude with Papa. He sniffled. They were probably going to get to go out and train anyway, even though they were so mean to him. They’d tell lies so they could still get their way and have fun while he was crying and hiding. Leander almost wanted to come out and tell on them to Papa, but the thought of leaving his spot when he still felt so upset made a fresh wave of tears well up in his eyes. He didn’t want to move at all. If his family didn’t need him and wanted to replace him that badly, then why should he ever come out?

So Leander stayed put, even when the dust in the alcove tickled his face and made his nose even runnier. He tried to think of other things, things that made him happy, but it was hard. He wished his twin was here, instead of out collecting and learning about bugs with Miss Phasma. Aeon’s hugs were second only to Mummy’s when it came to making him feel better. 

After a while, the voices of Papa, Sylmar, and Amelia started to fade away, disappearing completely as the door opened and closed behind them. The security system let out another _ bleep_, sealing the chambers shut, before leaving the entire place in complete silence. 

Leander fidgeted. Though he’d wanted to be alone, all of a sudden he felt _ too _ alone, like he did when he was stuck in one of his nightmares, running from a monster he couldn’t see. He sniffled, rubbing his eyes with his palms. He didn’t want to be alone. He didn’t want to be forgotten. 

He wanted his Mummy. 

All of a sudden, a knock sounded on the removable panel. Leander, forgetting he was supposed to be hiding, let out a small yelp at the sound, heart in his throat. He expected whoever was outside to take away the panel and pull him out, probably tease him for acting like a chicken, but instead he heard a careful, familiar voice. 

“Little dove? Are you in there?”

Leander’s eyes widened. _ Mummy. _He was the only one who called him “little dove” besides Other Papa Nor, the only one who spoke to him so patiently but with such kindness. Briefly, his heart lifted—before being struck down with guilt. Mummy needed to rest, but he was here comforting him instead. He thought about saying nothing, but ignoring Mummy would be rude and went against the good manners he taught them all to follow. After a moment of hesitation, Leander nudged aside the panel and peeked out into the dimness of his closet to find Mummy kneeling on the floor, white sleeping robes draped over his round tummy, head tilted, worry in his pale green eyes. 

“Mummy...you’re supposed to be in bed…” Leander said, voice barely above a mumble, “Papa told me you were sick.”

Mummy gave him a reassuring smile in return, hand going to his tummy to give it a soft pat. “I’m feeling a little bit better, so I decided to walk around and stretch my legs. But it seems I can’t say the same for you, little dove.” His brow furrowed. “Is something wrong?”

Leander didn’t want to admit it. Truth be told, he felt pretty embarrassed that he’d been caught hiding and crying, especially when Mummy was supposed to be in bed resting with the baby. Leander looked away, puffing out his tearstained cheeks. 

Mummy stroked a piece of hair off his forehead. “You don’t have to tell me, if you don’t feel up to it. But you know I’m always here to listen when you’re hurting.”

_ Always_. That word made Leander’s heart hurt now. Previously he would’ve believed it without question, that his Mummy would love him forever, _ always_, but after what Amelia said to him, he just couldn’t. Not now that he knew Mummy was gonna replace him with the new baby. 

“I don’t wanna...it’s dumb…” Leander admitted, lip wobbling. If he tried to explain, he knew he would start crying again. His siblings always made fun of him for crying; maybe if he didn’t do it, they wouldn’t tease him so often. 

“I’m sure it’s not dumb. But you don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to.” Mummy opened up his hands, palms turned upwards. “Can you do me a favor, though, and come out of there? It’s a little musty and dirty in there. I know it can’t be good for your allergies.”

After a moment, Leander nodded and held out his arms. Mummy reached into the crawlspace and carefully picked him up. He kept Leander cradled against his chest as he got to his feet, walking out of the closet and going to sit on the bed. Leander sat in his Mummy’s lap, careful not to squish his belly as he changed position. 

“There we are. Much better. We don’t want you to be sneezing all afternoon, now do we?” A handkerchief seemed to slip out of Mummy’s sleeve like a magic trick, made of pure white silk and embroidered with red stars and planets at the edges. Leander felt a little bad about dirtying it, because it looked really nice, but he didn’t say anything as Mummy wiped the dust and leftover tears from his cheeks. 

“Are you ready to tell me what’s the matter?” Mummy asks after a long moment of quiet, keeping Leander’s ear resting against his chest. He felt a little better hearing his Mummy’s strong heartbeat, but he's still fidgeting slightly in his lap. He didn’t want to be a tattletale. Amelia and Sylmar wouldn’t be happy if he blamed his crying on them, even if it really was all their fault. 

Leander’s eyes fell upon his Mummy’s round tummy as he stuck a knuckle in his mouth, sucking on it nervously. He let out a soft whimper as he remembered—the _ replacement_. As good as it felt for Mummy to hold him and comfort him now, in a little bit he would all be focused on the baby. And Leander would be forgotten, left alone to only imagine what his Mummy’s warm embrace and soft kisses used to feel like. 

“I…” Leander started, faltering over a hiccup. He sniffled, rubbing his nose with his chewed-on finger until Mummy offered him the hanky. “M-Muh...Mummy…” he mumbled after blowing his nose into it, though it didn’t help much when his face crumpled into tears again. “D-don’t...forget about me…Mummy, please don’t.”

“Oh, little dove.” Mummy rubbed Leander’s back as he sobbed, keeping him close. “Why do you think I would ever forget about you? That’s impossible.”

“B-But,” Leander mumbled, pulling the now snotty hanky away from his face, “the new baby...t-they said you were going to replace me with the new baby since I’m not cute anymore!”

Mummy’s face pinched with confusion and a bit of hurt. 

“Who’s ‘they’? Who said such a terrible thing to you?”

“A-Amelia and Sylmar…” Leander didn’t want to tattle but he didn’t want to lie to Mummy even more. He looked down at his hands, knotting his fingers into the handkerchief. 

Above him, Mummy tutted and shook his head. “Really? Well, that’s not nice of them at all. I’m going to have to have a long talk with the both of them about spreading mean fibs. That’s not good manners at all.” 

Leander lifted his chin, a glimmer of hope in his eyes. “F-Fibs?”

Mummy smiled softly, fingers coming up to stroke back through Leander’s hair. “Of course they’re fibs, little dove. Mummy would never want to replace you. I love you very, _ very _ much.”

Leander’s heart leaped at that. He wanted to believe it, really badly, but his siblings’ words, even if they were fibs, still rung achingly in his mind. He frowned, guarded and unsure. 

“Then why…why are you and Papa having another baby?”

Mummy paused for a moment, his cheeks tinged with blush Leander didn’t quite understand the reason for. He let out a small cough, before continuing. 

“Well...Papa and I just thought we wanted a bigger family, that’s all. But that doesn’t mean the baby is going to replace anyone. They won’t be taking any love from you, or your siblings. They’ll just be adding _ more _love to our family.” 

Mummy ruffled Leander’s hair, his face radiating warmth and comfort despite his pale skin and the dark circles under his eyes. 

“So...you’re not gonna replace me?”

Mummy chuckled softly, lifting Leander up under the arms until they were nose to nose. “Of course not. I love the baby too, but nobody is ever going to replace my little dove in my heart.” Leander finally smiled when Mummy nuzzled him, the soft scent of flowering linens that he loved so much wafting over him. “After all, who else would pick me such lovely blue honeycups? The baby certainly can’t do that. Though I have to say, I would far prefer they sit in my vase than on the floor.”

_ “Oh_,” Leander said softly, looking bashful, “I forgot...are they okay?”

Mummy simpered and shrugged his shoulders. “A little bent from their tumble, but still beautiful as ever.” He leaned in to press his lips to Leander’s forehead, before moving down to kiss him on his damp, reddened cheek. “I was thinking we could rest in the sitting room and admire them together. Maybe I can read from your favorite book, too?”

Leander’s eyes lit up. “You mean _ History of the Imperial Remnant and Beyond: For Little Leaders Ages 4-9?_” The clunky title rolled right off the tip of his tongue. He’d memorized it despite the big words, along with some of his favorite passages and all of the pictures. 

Mummy laughed and lightly poked his nose. “Of course. Would that cheer you up, little dove?”

Leander’s small smile grew and grew until his cheeks bunched up. It’d been months since Mummy read to him from his favorite book. “Yes!” he said, nodding so quickly his circlet nearly tumbled off. Mummy gently corrected its position before getting to his feet, holding Leander carefully above his rounded tummy. 

Leander hugged around Mummy’s neck as he carted him off towards the sitting room, earning another kiss atop his head. When they sat upon the couch, slightly crooked blue honeycups sitting majestically in the vase, Mummy let Leander cling to him and curl against his warm tummy as he opened up the big heavy book and started to read from Leander’s favorite chapter. He always loved to hear about Miss Grand Admiral Rae Sloane and her adventures. He hoped when he grew up, he’d be as tough and strong as she was. 

Leander let out a happy sigh and relaxed as Mummy’s clear, gentle voice reached his ears, calming away the last of his worry. He finally felt okay, forgetting all the mean things his siblings had told him as he listened to the story. Leander knew that things might still change a little bit when the baby came, but right now, he felt nothing but love from his Mummy. 

And he no longer had any reason to believe that would ever change. 

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know if you want more Huxling stuff! I try not to write only this kind of AU fluff, but every once in a while I like to go back to it. 
> 
> Hit me up on [Tumblr](http://thethespacecoyote.tumblr.com) and [Twitter](https://twitter.com/heir_of_breath7/).


End file.
